Key Insights

• Significant control over Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• 14% of Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Shandong Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Co.,Ltd (SZSE:003042), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 41% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥399m last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd.

View our latest analysis for Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd. The company's largest shareholder is CNAMPGC Shanghai Corporation, with ownership of 31%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.6% and 8.6% of the stock. Hui Xu, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Shandong Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Co.,Ltd. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥3.0b, and insiders have CN¥426m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.